#384 - Flying With Grandpa
by Madhuri Kamat and illustrated by Niloufer Wadia
“Flying With Grandpa” by Madhuri Kamat and illustrated by Niloufer Wadia. Published by Duckbill. A heartwarming story of Xerxes who adores his Grandpa and wants to be like him while his mother wants him to be like JRD Tata.
Xerxes is trying to settle in his new school. Everyone seems to be making fun of his strange name and he feels left out. He lives with his parents and his mamavaji (grandpa). His father Noshir runs a bakery cum cafe while his mother is a veterinary doctor. Xerxes adores his grandpa and wants to become like him when he grows up. However, Sonji (his mother) wants him to become like JRD Tata. She thinks that her father is a bad influence on Xerxes and wants to separate them. She feels that her father is getting senile. Seeing him involve Xerxes in silly pretend playing with his imagination running wild and acting quite silly according to her, makes her wonder if he should be sent someplace where he will be taken care of well rather than being at home.
Xerxes enjoys all the games that he plays with his grandpa and can’t understand why his mother has a problem with that. He is shocked when he overhears Sonji proposing to Noshir about sending mamavaji away from home. He cannot imagine being away from mamavaji. He starts thinking out of the box. What if mamavaji learnt to fly like JRD Tata? Then his mother will not have a problem with him trying to be like mamavaji. Can this happen at all? Will mamavaji agree to learn to fly? Is Sonji ever going to understand why Xerxes loves his grandpa so much? Read this delightful book to know all of these while getting to savour the special bond between Xerxes and his mamavaji.
My 8.5 year old son loved the book very much and just couldn’t stop reading it with me. The bond between Xerxes and mamavaji resonated a lot with him. He told me that it reminded him of the happy times he spent with my father. They would listen to music together, go for walks and scooter rounds and spend a lot of time sitting in the car while he would try and figure out all the parts. The story gently touches upon several themes like old age, bonding with grandparents, handling bullying at school and trying to settle in school. It also gives a peek into the customs and traditions of a Parsi family. The illustrations are charming and bring the story alive. My son wanted me to start reading the sequel to this book right away. I had to request him to hold on for sometime so that he could relish the experience of having read this one for a bit. He had picked up both the books at a pop up by Funky Rainbow in his nursery school as soon as he saw the cover pictures of Xerxes and his grandpa. I don’t think I can hold him back from reading the second one for too long though :)
Recommended Age
The book is apt for children aged 7 and above.
Reasons to Read
The book portrays the beautiful bond between a child and his grandfather.
The book gives a glimpse into the traditions of the Parsi community.
Where to buy from?
An independent bookstore, Funky Rainbow, from where I buy many of my books.